بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Hasina Regime is Forcing People to Choose between “Virus or Hunger” by Blindly Imitating the Capitalist NationsOnly the Khilafah State can Overcome a Pandemic without Paralyzing the Economy or Life

O People, we are witnessing the great month of Ramadan in such a time, when we are in a high position in our imaan, while we are also passing a time of severe uncertainty and anxiety. Allah (swt) says about this great month,

“We have revealed to you the Scripture, with the truth, so that you judge between people in accordance with what Allah has shown you. And do not be an advocate for the traitors” [Surah An-Nisa: 105]. We see how the nations following of the Kufr Secular Capitalist ideology and their regimes alike have not only failed to protect their land from the coronavirus outbreak, but also they have locked-up billions of people of this world in their homes in an unprecedented manner, and have paralyzed the economy and people’s lives, and have further complicated the crisis. Hasina regime, being a blind follower of the Kufr Secular Capitalist ideology, in her rejection of the Deen of Allah (swt), has followed the policy of the Western Capitalist nations to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. As a result, Bangladesh is also in the same calamitous situation like the West, and the government has left the people no other choice than that between being infected and suffering from hunger. Therefore, we in Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Bangladesh are presenting to you a way to remove the root cause of this crisis, the Capitalist system and the solution of this crisis, based on the Deen of Allah (swt) i.e. Islamic ideology. If we can take correct steps on the basis of our imaan then this Ramadan will be a turning point for us, insh’Allah.

Firstly, these Secular Capitalist rulers prioritized the narrow political, trade and strategic interests over their people. So, just as China concealed the deadly character of the virus, Capitalist Europe and America have also neglected to stop the spread of the virus. Thus, the coronavirus disease, from its origin in Wuhan, spread within China and then almost to all over the world. Hasina regime, in spite of multiple warnings from health experts, concealed the presence of this disease in Bangladesh to keep the Mujib Anniversary programs uninterrupted and not to hurt the trade and diplomatic relations with China and the Western nations, and to ensure that they even cowardly restored to intimidations and arrests. Additionally, Hasina regime did not take any effective initiative to stop the spread of infections through the people coming from aboard.

Secondly, when these Secular rulers and their crony Capitalists witnessed that this virus does not differentiate between the rich and the poor - Heads of States, top politicians, businessmen, and influential people were also infected and one may fall to death without medical support - they imposed inhumane lockdowns and made the people the victim of their policies. Since the official recognition of the first coronavirus infected patients on 8th March, Hasina regime has been no different. By announcing a general holiday on 23rd March (26th March to 4th April) the government deliberately allowed the millions of people to evacuate the capital, and thus this disease spread all over the country, and also ensured their own health security in VIP hospitals. To avoid the government’s threats and intimidation against reporting the deaths that are happening in various part of the country connected to this virus infection, the media has invented a new name for these deaths: “death due to fever-and-cough”!

Thirdly, because of these lockdowns, all of a sudden, billions of people of the world have become jobless, are without work, and have lost their businesses. In this situation, Hasina government emerged as the faithful guardian of the crony Capitalists, by declaring a stimulus package of $11.3 billion (Taka 956.19 billion, which is nearly 3.3 percent of GDP) supposedly to save the economy from the crisis. Under this package are low-interest credit facilities to the very Capitalists and large corporations who looted banks previously, and is nothing but blindly imitation of the policies that the USA, UK or EU are taking i.e., protecting the interests and profits of the Capitalists first, leaving the mass people in their misery. Now we are also seeing the Hasina government using thousands of garment workers as fuel to save the businesses of the same crony groups by allowing them to open their factories without any protective measures.

Fourthly, to implement strict lockdown, government is threatening the people, “either stay at home or go to the grave, it is your choice.” But people see that they will die of death if they stay at home, because the so-called government reliefs are entering into houses of the looters, and the desperate people coming out to the streets for work and food are being blamed for spreading the infection of the virus - it is being said that people are coming out to the streets unnecessarily, are not maintaining “social distancing”, etc.

Lastly, this coronavirus has demonstrated to us how vulnerable the Western Capitalist States and their governments are! The West and their agent rulers want to conceal the severe weakness in their economy and service sectors by blaming the coronavirus; whereas, the artificial economy of Capitalism based on stock exchanges, money markets, speculation and usury has indeed created a huge economic bubble. This artificial economy is weaker than a spider's web, and a crisis like the spread of the coronavirus has been enough to shake its foundations and introduced it into a free fall phase. Their so-called development theories have become questionable, where large GDP and so-called mega projects are given priority over people’s basic rights, such as health care. Basic protection equipment such PPE and masks for doctors and health workers or adequate ICU-ventilators for patients were not given priority in their development theories. The whole of Bangladesh is facing COVID-19 with only 192 ICU beds [Dhaka Tribune: 20 April 2020]. Health workers in Europe and America are expressing their anger in streets for sending them to war without shields, and death tolls are mounting due to inadequate support of ICUs and ventilators.

Globally, the confidence in Capitalism as an ideology that can take care of humankind has been shaken. Even within the Western Capitalist States, people are shaken by the system’s failure to protect them either from disease or from hunger. Nevertheless, Hasina and other Muslim rulers in their disobedience to Allah (swt), having rejected the clear guidelines of Islam, are blindly following the Western policies to deal with this crisis which have resulted in billions of people being thrown into extreme hunger, poverty and uncertainty.

O Muslims! The Khilafah (Caliphate) State has clear guidelines regarding dealing with epidemics, hunger and poverty, and the Khaleefah (Caliph) is bound to obey these. Fundamentally, the Khilafah is not like a corporate State caring for only a few capitalists and corporate interests, but rather it is an Allah-fearing State for humanity, caring for its citizens and for the whole humankind. RasulAllah (saw) said,

«الْإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَمَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ»

“Indeed imam (Khaleefah) is the guardian and he is responsible for his flock.”[Bukhari/Muslim]. The Khilafah State will not leave the people’s hunger or food crisis to false promises of the Capitalist States or the mercy of the rich people’s donation or relief. Rather, the Khilafah State takes the responsibly of the individuals and uses her resources and power to fulfill her citizens’ rights regardless of religion and race, and so food security and healthcare are ensured at all the times. The real economy of the Khilafah State is based on the production of goods and the provision of services and that is ensured by the uninterrupted work of factories, workers, stores, the health sector, offices and institutions, which do not break down in a calamity. Besides, under this system there will be no waste of revenues to pay interests of debt, so the State will be able to utilize her revenues to fulfill her obligations to the people, both in crisis and in normal times. Indeed, Islam does not force people to choose between hunger and disease, for it is an obligation on the State to address both the disease and the hunger. The blessed Sunnah of RasulAllah (saw) established that both health care and provision of needs are duties of the State. RasulAllah (saw) said,

“Whoever begins his day feeling family security and good health; and possessing provision for his day is as though he possessed the world.” [At-Tirmidhi].

O Muslims! In the context of the extreme failure of the Secular Capitalist rulers from the West to the East, we in Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Bangladesh are presenting to the nation some important policies based on Islam about dealing with a pandemic:

The correct way to deal with an infectious disease and epidemic according to the guidance of Allah (swt): the State will monitor the disease from the beginning and will work to limit the disease at its place of origin, and healthy people in other regions will continue to work and produce. To implement this:

Firstly, Khilafah at the State level will take initiative to restrict the disease to its place of origin. Narrated by Bukhari in his Sahih from Usama Bin Zaid from the Prophet (saw) that he said:

“If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and if it breaks out in a land in which you are, do not leave it.” In another Hadith narrated in Muslim that the Prophet (saw) said:

“Plague is a calamity which was sent to Bani Isra'il or upon those who were before you. So when you hear that it has broken out in a land, don't go to it, and when it has broken out in the land where you are, don't run out of it.” China did not initially quarantine the region of the outbreak, Wuhan and 430,000 traveled into the US from China, including from the area of the original outbreak, Wuhan, after China became aware of the crisis. Similarly, Hasina government also kept air-travel open with the affected countries in Europe along with Wuhan, China, the epicenter of this disease.

Secondly, Islamic guidance regarding contagious disease is that the sick must be separated from the healthy. RasulAllah (saw) said,

«لا يورد ممرض على مصح»

“Do not put the diseased with the healthy.” [Bukhari]. Thus, the State will identify the sick and isolate them, and will provide health care and medicine free of charge. Besides, to ensure that infection carriers are in self-isolation, the State will motivate them from Qur’an and Sunnah. The State will also provide protective equipment for those who dealing with the infected, whoever they are, relatives or doctors, so that it does not spread at community level. Due to the shortage of protective equipment, we are currently witnessing 11% of the total effected in Bangladesh are doctors and health workers. On the other hand, healthy people will continue with their economic and social life. Thus, the epidemic will not be able to paralyze people’s life and destroy the economy.

Thirdly, the Islamic policy of quarantine is opposite to that of Capitalism, i.e. Islam does not quarantine the people but rather quarantines the disease. A massive scale of sanitization and sterilization program can take place along with the adequate supply of mask and PPE, and the State will encourage its citizens to use them. Besides, Islam has guidance about the large numbers of silent carriers, who have the infection but not the disease, so that disease does not outbreak in large community. Rasul’Allah (saw) said:

«لا ضرر ولا ضرر»

“There (must be) no harm and no harming” [Ibn Majah], and as the silent carriers can be cause of harm, the State can bring a large number of its citizens under mass-testing to identify the silent carriers quickly.

Fourthly, according to the Khilafah State’s Constitution, it is incumbent upon the State that it will ensure health security for all of its citizens, regardless of their religion and race. The State must establish research institutions, to examine all means to improve immunity to infections, whether through nutrition, exercise or medicine, in all its forms, including herbs and vitamin supplements. The State must also study the likelihood of populations developing natural herd immunity to particular infectious outbreaks, as well as, the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Unlike the current rulers, the State will not leave the health sector dependent on Kafir Capitalists or let it become money making tools for Capitalist companies, because that completely contradicts the Islamic Shari’ah.

Fifthly, caution does not mean irresponsibility - the current regime, in the name of caution, is nurturing the idea of irresponsibility among people and we are seeing outcomes of that in prevention of burial of the dead, not coming forward to take care of the sick, and etc. The Khilafah State will ensure that people, with proper precaution, come forward to take care of the sick, paying special attention to those whose immunity to disease is weaker, such as the elderly or those who suffer from pre-existing lung diseases, asthma, and diabetics. The State will repeatedly remind people to fear Allah (swt), and not the disease, and that life-death-riziq are only in the hand of Allah (swt). He (swt) says,

“Say,"Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us; He is our Protector." In Allah let the faithful put their trust”. [Surah At-Tawba:51]

Lastly, Islam provides guidance not only for minimizing the harm to the health and the financial hardship from infectious outbreaks, but it also gave guidance as to how Muslims are to regard any loss of life, during such outbreaks. Bukhari narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (ra), the wife of RasulAllah (saw), that she said,

“I asked Allah's Messenger (saw) about the plague. He told me that: “It was a Punishment sent by Allah on whom He wished, and Allah made it a source of mercy for the believers, for if one in the time of an epidemic plague stays in his country patiently hoping for Allah's Reward and believing that nothing will befall him except what Allah has written for him, he will get the reward of a martyr.’” So, far from drowning in panic and fear, Muslims are patient in their trial, expectant of reward and constant in Du’a to the Lord of the Worlds, Allah (swt), for His (swt) help for relief from the trial.

In this way, Islam ensures that effect of the infectious disease is limited and is not allowed to spread to all over the country, so that a situation like complete lockdown does not emerge, which we are witnessing in America along with other Capitalist countries. In history, Muslims have gone through many similar situations like this: the Ummah was tested in the middle of the sixth century after Hijra with the scourge of "Al-Shaqfa" resulting in sores on the skin now know to be caused by the staphylococcus bacteria. Muslims were also tested in the middle of the eighth century of after Hijra (749 AH) by what is called the Great Plague in Damascus, and in all these cases the mosques were not closed and the jumma, taraweeh or the congregation prayers were not stopped. And the healthy people were not locked up in their homes, but the sick were isolated, and the healthy people carried out their work, building the civilization. They went to the mosques to pray and supplicated to Allah (swt) to protect them from the evil of the disease, in addition to the health treatment they followed in caring for the sick.

O Muslims, this coronavirus has turned you toward Allah (swt) more than ever. The Western rulers and their followers want to cover this test from Allah (swt) with conspiracy theories so that to keep you away from seeking the closeness of Allah (swt), so, do not be deceived by them. The Capitalist world is in a disastrous situation caused by the smallest creation of Allah (swt), but while witnessing this, secular rulers like Hasina are still running towards that Kufr Capitalist ideology, which is not capable of taking care of mankind, following them hand-span by hand-span and cubit by cubit, and is seeking from it health and cure! It was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed (ra.) that the Prophet (saw) said:

“You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they enter the hole of a lizard, you will enter it too.’ We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?’ He said: ‘Who else?’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. There is nothing to hope left from these secular rulers; in fact they are the ones who are the cause of this crisis along with the fitna-fasad (mischief) that is spread around the world. Allah (swt) says:

“Calamities have appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of the people have earned, so that He (Allah) makes them taste some of what they did, in order that they may return (to the right way)” [Surah Ar-Rum: 41]. Therefore, in this blessed month, month of the revelation of Qur’an, come forward O Muslims, with the commitment that we will participate in the political struggle to remove this secular Capitalist rulers, and we will never follow or support this secular Capitalist system and rulers consciously or subconsciously or out of fear, and with our full effort we will engage in the work for the complete implementation of Allah’s Deen i.e. re-establishment of Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood, the mercy of Allah (swt) on Earth that we lost 99 years ago on 28th Rajab 1342 AH.

RasulAllah (saw) said:

«انما السطان ظل الله في الأرض»

“Sultan (Khalifah) is the shade (mercy) of Allah on Earth” [Al-Daraqutni]

The official opinions of Hizb ut Tahrir are those carried in statements issued in the name of the various provincial offices (Wilayaat), the various media offices of Hizb ut Tahrir, and the statements of the official spokesmen and media representatives of Hizb ut Tahrir. Any other statements, even if published in official websites or magazines are the opinions of the authors of the articles and not those of of Hizb ut Tahrir. Permission is given to copy, quote or publish anything issued by Hizb ut Tahrir or Hizb ut Tahrir’s websites, provided the quotation or copy remains faithful to the meaning, without selective quotation that distorts the meaning or that portrays a false interpretation, and provided the quote is attributed to its source.